Life and Times of Saint
Thomas Aquinas (1225 -1274)
Written & Compiled
by: Zehra Nasirali
Philosophy
Life:
• born
on 1227 to a noble Italian family, at his father's castle in Rome
• died
on 1274 in a monastery of Fossanova on a journey to attend the Council of
Lyons.
• when
he was 5 yrs, he was sent to the monastery of Monte Carlo to receive his first
training as it was custom, o his father, Count Landulf had a brother there,
Sinibald, who was an abbot.
• At
this young age he was noted to be diligent in studies & prayer. His
preceptor was surprised at how often he'd ask the question, 'What is God?'
•
Despite opposition, he became a Dominican Friar, studying with Albertus Magnus
(the famous philosopher of scholasticism) in Cologne. Q this long association
with Albertus led him to become the greatest theologian of the medieval church
and a strong force towards scholasticism.
• In
1252, he went to Paris to get his master's degree in philosophy Q beginning of
his public career.
•
Aristotle. 'Sentences' of Peter Lombard and Albertus Magnus is was got him
hooked onto theology and philosophy.
• His
life can be summed up in a few words; praying, preaching, teaching, writing.
Journeying. He laboured as if all depended on his own efforts and prayed as if
all depended on God.
• He
declared to Father Reginald that he received assistance from Heaven and many at
times he went into ecstacy receiving assurance from the Lord. (page 3)
• In
his lifetime, he composed more than 60 works; his greatest work was Summa
Theologica.
• The
entire "Summa" contains 38 Treatises, 612 Questions, subdivided into
3120 articles, in which about 10,000 objections are proposed and answered.
• The
Summa was divided into three parts: 1. God
2. Ethics 3. Christ
The Summa (Part 1: God)
The
part treats God as the "first cause, himself uncaused". It also
discusses the existence of God as there must be a first mover, unmoved, a first
cause in the chain of causes, an absolutely perfect being, and a rational
designer. By this, the thoughts of unity, infinity, unchangeableness, and a
goodness of the highest being are brought about. His knowledge is absolutely
perfect since
he
knows himself and all things as appointed by him. God works all in all, but so
that things also themselves exert their proper efficiency. An example of a
question from the summa: Whether God exists?
OBJECTION 1:
It seems that God does not exist; because if one of two contraries were
infinite, the other would be altogether destroyed. But the word "God"
means that He is infinite goodness. If therefore. God existed, there would be
no evil discoverable; but there is evil in the world. Therefore, God does not
exist.
REPLY:
As Augustine says: "Since God is the highest good. He would not allow any
evil to exist in His works, unless His omnipotence and goodness were such as to
bring good even out of evil." This is part of the infinite goodness of
God. that He should allow evil to exist, and out of it produce good.
The Summa (Part 2: Ethics)
The
"human reason" pronounces judgement concerning the character of the
end. However, human acts are also moral if they promote the purpose of God and
his honour. Therefore, God is not the cause of sin since He draws all things to
Himself (criticizable and counter-criticizable). Theological virtues are imparted
by God to man as a "disposition". To keep on the right path,
repetition
of a good action can make man acquire a moral habit or quality, which can
enable him to do good gladly and easily. It is interesting to note that 51
Thomas when considering 'human acts,' he categorised those things that are
pertainable to all men despite their station in life, and thing: that are
pertainable to only some men. Those that are pertainable to all men are reduced
to 7 headings: Faith, Hope, Charity, Prudence, Justice, Fortitude and
Temperance. And those pertaining to some men are reduced to 3 headings: the
graces freely given to those who do good for the Church, the active and
contemplative life, and the particular states of life and duties of
religious
figures, like bishops. (Justice: Whether it is lawful to kill sinners?)
The Summa (Part 3: Christ)
Christ
is the theme of the third part of the summa, who as man, is the way by which we
tend to God. His every action and suffering is a lesson for his followers.
Although he experienced suffering, blessedness reigned in his soul. As head of
humanity, he imparted perfection and virtue to his members. He is the teacher
and example of humanity; his whole life and suffering a well as his work after
he is exalted serve this end. His endurance of suffering bore a personal
character
that he projected out of love and obedience. It was his personal offering
brought to God and this in turn rewarded him to be the "salvation for
men". Apart from influencing men, he still assists men by doing work on
their behalf continually in heaven through the intercession. In this way Christ
as head of humanity effects the forgiveness of their sins. their reconciliation
with
God, their immunity from punishment, deliverance from the devil, and the opening
of heaven' gate. This part of the summa deals with questions relating not to
whether his actions were right or wrong, but the reasoning behind them so as to
educate us in the same manner. (Ex: Whether Christ should have led a life of
poverty in this world?)
Conclusion: St. Thomas had two propositions in
life and both were accomplished: to establish the truth relations between faith
and reason, and second, to systemize theology. Apart from this proposition, he
also realized the difficulties experienced by students of 'sacred doctrine'. He
considered and meant the "Summa Theologica" to be a manual of
Christian doctrine in scientific
form;
complete with human reason rendering the defence and explanation of the truths
of the Christian religion. His method and style of synthesis were
extraordinary. By just a few well-chosen words, objections and arguments were
cleared up and light was brought to the dark and confused world of the students
in his day. Indeed his works breathed the spirit of God by his strong foundation
on the knowledge of God, of Christ, and of man.